The invention relates to a needle for a textile machine, in particular, to a felting needle or fork needle.
Such a needle has been known, for example, from document U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,650 B. In so doing, the needle has a working section, an adjoining shank section, and a needle foot adjoining said shank section. This needle foot comprises a holding means that extends radially away from the longitudinal axis of the needle and away therefrom. For example, the holding means of the needle foot can be shaped during the manufacture of the needle in that a wire blank is being bent.
In the operative position of the needle, said needle is set in a needle holder of a textile machine, for example a felting machine. The upper shank section is accommodated in a bore of the needle board, whereby the holding means of the needle foot is arranged in a groove on the upper side of the needle board. A needle bar of the needle holder is set on the upper side of the needle board and, in so doing, pushes onto the holding means of the needle foot. If the holding means is not bent in an exactly rectangular manner relative to the longitudinal axis, a point-shaped contact or a contact with only a very small contact surfaces is created between the needle bar and the transverse element. As a result of this, the needle bar can be damaged. In addition, the contact site is not in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the needle.
Considering this, the object is to provide an improved needle, whereby, in particular, the contact between the needle bar of the needle holder of a textile machine and the needle is to be optimized.